ABSTRACT
Introduction
Regulatory authorities and organizations keen to improve road safety often use knowledge of rules and laws of traffic as a measure of driving safety (see for example the procedure in Janke, 1990, where older drivers had to pass a test of traffic law to be able to renew their licences). Over time, such test content has also been supplemented by questions about vehicle handling (for example stopping distances) and the hazards involved (such as skidding in wet weather). Yet, knowledge of rules, laws and hazards seem to have little bearing on actual safety. Thus, in Janke (1990), the (randomly allocated) drivers who had to pass a law test had subsequent driving records that were no different in crash involvement to those who did not take part in such a test.
